Hide: Why You Should Keep Dreams Secret

“EUREKA!” Your brain shouts about it’s latest idea. You know it. You feel it. This is what you were made for–you’ve found your personal legend.

Out of excitement you tell the nearest person, your friends, your spouse, the weird neighbor next door that wears Big Foot socks and believes in conspiracy theories. Yet none of them seem to care, and, even counter your idea.

They tell you, “Many people have tried that, it doesn’t work,”
“Are you sure YOU are capable of that?”
“Is this another one of your crazy ideas?”
“You know the government is listening to you through your mail box, right?”

This is where most ideas die. When our most trusted associates criticize us for trying to be something other than average.

THE DANGERS WE MUST HIDE FROM

Raw format: New ideas haven’t been flushed out completely yet. In the beginning of any venture there are a LOT of issues that need to be worked out. Telling people who are used to seeing things in their final form–they will have no choice but to be critical.

Projection of THEIR fear: Those unkind words they said to you? They were actually talking to themselves. Humans are naturally selfish, and when they hear that great thought of yours immediately they wonder if THEY can do it. If the answer is “no” then they tell you that you can’t do it either.

False start: Even if all your closest associates were supportive, one phenomena that happens when we talk about events is that we actually experience them. For new ideas, this means dopamine is created to reward you, and it might just be enough for you to not ACTUALLY pursue the idea.

Hiding doesn’t mean you don’t tell anyone. Just like in hide-or-seek, there are other players hiding too. They know the feeling of being hunted, and therefore are willing to form a tribe with you. These are your people, your trusted cohorts–but don’t forget, trust is a two way street. You must support them. Calm their fears. Warn them of danger.

THE BEST HIDING SPOTS

Next to others who hide–try to find one or two trusted people to motivate you. Do not ask them to criticize, or give feedback on your work. They have one job; to tell you “keep going.”

Near soft deadlines–If you’re writing a book: “I will write 2,000 words a week.”
If you’re trying to get into shape: “I will fit into these jeans by July.”
If you’re starting a business: “I will have an LLC next year.”

With a Mentor–A good mentor will NEVER discourage your dreams. In fact, they will hold you accountable and give you options on where to go while you hide.

With enough support from the others who hide, or a mentor, you’ll be well on your way to complete a soft or hard deadline. When you hit that deadline, you will know that there is no turning back. You will feel an immense amount of joy–and the ones who hunt you won’t seem to be much of a threat anymore. That’s a good sign it might be time to stop hiding.

WHEN TO STOP HIDING

The most obvious time to stop, is when a project is completed. At this point there will be a physical manifestation of your idea, and it will be very hard for anyone to do anything other than to be proud of you. Before I wrote my book, people told me it wouldn’t do well, especially as a first time writer. I put it off for a long time because of that feedback. Eventually I stopped caring if it would do well–but I didn’t tell ANYONE I was writing one; the book was a #1 bestseller in 4 categories [take that haters].

There comes a point in every venture where the speed of it has built up so much, that it’s too late to stop it. When Patric Moore and I set out to make a podcast for other entrepreneurs struggling to get their ideas into motion, we didn’t tell any of our friends. Instead, we huddled together front of our cheap microphone and made episode after episode. Well, things started to take off–soon we were getting emails from many entrepreneurs across the world looking to be a guest on The Birth of The Hustle–now we have a beautiful studio with the same model of microphones used to record Michael Jackson’s Thriller album.

There is a time where you don’t get to choose. That’s because the hunters found you. They’ve exposed your ideas to others and are likely ridiculing you for it. What do you do? You let them laugh. It’s going to suck, you’re going to think about it every night before you go to bed: “There is truth to what they said.” “Maybe I should just stop.” Don’t, there might be truth to what they are saying, but you will change, evolve, and this thing will get bigger than you can ever imagine.

The thing is–you must pursue this idea. It might seem like it’s all about you, that the only person who benefits from this idea is you. After I published my book, at least 6 of my friends started writing their own. Most have never read my book, and I am completely okay with that. I motivate them, warn them of the pitfalls, and help to hold them accountable. Had I never wrote a book, would they have thought it possible to write one themselves? Maybe, but maybe not. By pursuing your greatest idea you will inspire others to do the same–that first domino is the most important one.